Machu Picchu

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Machu Picchu, "Lost City of the Incas"


Day 43


Machu Picchu, the most famous of all ancient Inca citadels set high up in the clouds is a breathtaking site needing little more explanation because if you haven´t been there, my description would simply be words on a page and nothing more to the reader. As Thomas put it, the winding bus journey up the mountain from the deep river valley below to where the site lies nestled atop steep cliffs, is already an amazing experience. It puts into perspective the immense skill, bravery and sheer workmanship that went into building Machu Pachu in such a remote location.... and that's before even laying eyes on the site.

A little known fact but one which is glaringly obvious when it has been pointed out is that while facing Huayna Picchu for the classic ´Macchu Picchu´ view if you tilt your head slightly to the right, you will see another clever Inca "sculpture" dipicting the side profile of an Inca, with a rather large nose. Also, the aeriel view of the main city shows that the layout was created in the form of a lizard and when viewed from atop Huayno Picchu one can see the entire site is in the shape of a condor.

I feel its worth pointing out that Thomas and I were among the lucky 400 people to climb Huayna Picchu that day. The path above the Macchu Picchu remains is so steep, shambling and dangerous that the authorities had to set a limit to the hoards of tourists wishing to scale it. The day was hot, really hot and the rocky steps so tricky and steep that in places a steel rail had been bolted into the mountain to wrench yourself up on. We reached the top of the rocky path to be met with the bottom of the steps of the Inca Temple at the mountain top. These steps were frighteningly steep, almost to a vertical limit.

Thomas and I tentatively started our climb. I broke off the steps at one point and walked across the 10mt long 1mt wide terrace that overlooked....absolutely nothing for several hundred feet before you received your ariel view of Macchu Picchu. I had figured that the steps on the other side of the terrace may be wider as my small foot wouldn´t even fit into the tiny stone Inca steps. They were no bigger and to make matters worse I looked down for too long and suddenly began to feel myself shaking with vertigo. It was then I panicked because I was too afraid to carry on climbing up and too scared to go back down. As I had little choice either way I pulled myself into check and continued on up holding my breath and fighting the trembling and shaking. At the top plateau we both breathed a huge sigh of relief as we realised at the same terrifying place below we had both started to worry about our situation. Here at the top was by no means any more reassuring as we stood on the edge of a cliff with no barrier and no safety ropes and very little room to move.....oh and on this side of the mountain....hundreads of metres of nothing until the river valley floor below.

We came down those same steps on our hands and bum.

So I will say no more than this, that the video footage we have far outweighs the photos for impressiveness but that the only way to trully appreciate Macchu Picchu is to make the journey yourself.

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Photos

Huaynu Picchu
The small white dots are people climbing up to the top

Birds eye view of Machu Picchu
From the top of Huaynu Picchu

Comments

[mark mcnamee]

Hi from BLE Security
Howdy guys! you look like your still having the time of your lives, great to see!, Tom, you even look like you've put on a bit of weight lol, and as for the colour of both of you! (still not as black as me though) fair play to both of you for climbing all that way! especially with the vertigo getting a grip. hope you enjoy the rest of it just as much! Rgd's, Mark.